


Vermilion

by hot_cinnamon_man



Category: Free!
Genre: AU, Age Difference, Aged-Up Character(s), Multi, Possible smut in last chapter, Rin the Shoujo Heroine, Slow Build, but no shota, dis b so shoujo u gaiz, so shoujo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-21
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-02 04:19:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2799317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hot_cinnamon_man/pseuds/hot_cinnamon_man
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was raining the day a boy met a man who wrote of red strings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vermilion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rinsousukes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinsousukes/gifts).



> Note that most of this (short) fic is T, but that the last chapter will very likely be E.

Rin was nine-years-old when he met Yamazaki Sousuke for the first time.

It had been raining fiercely that day. Raindrops from dark clouds angrily roiling above fell thick and invasive. Water oozed through layers of clothing to freeze the skin beneath, to soak pores and threaten to flood mouths and ears and noses. Even with the protection of umbrellas people scurried as fast as they could, desperate to dry and warm themselves.

Rin was one of the unlucky who was completely vulnerable to the elements. His mother had told him that it would rain that day, but it had been so sunny and cloudless that morning that he sneakily left his umbrella behind - why would he want to lug one around if he wasn't going to use it? He was sorely regretting that decision now. His teeth chattered, his hands were stiff, and his feet were numb with cold. At first he had believed with prideful childishness that he could handle a little chill, but it was quickly becoming unbearable. He was wet and frozen and lunch felt like eons ago. Surely it would be fine to take shelter for a little while until the rain let up?

The building he ducked into felt hot compared to outside. Sweet relief filled him, and for a moment he simply basked in the warmth even as he shivered and was in the process of making a rather large puddle on the already wet floor. The fact that he wasn't the only one to seek refuge from the downpour was brought to his attention when he was jostled aside, and finally really looked at his surroundings.

It looked like a diner or cafe, but not one of the cutesy ones Rin saw on TV. There were no lace curtains or fake-fancy tablecloths or pretty young waitresses in frilly uniforms. Dull gold lights with glass shades hung from the ceiling, their glow barely reflected on the worn dark wood that was the floor, walls, tables, counter - the only fabrics were red leather seats and dusty plaid curtains. He could smell a little food cooking, perhaps even pastries being baked, but stronger than that was coffee and cigarette smoke so thick he could nearly taste it. Full and only getting fuller, the din was relentless - voices reverberated off the walls and wove into each other tight as linen. Curiosity filled his senses and he wedged himself in deeper.

A high school boy rushed passed Rin and all but knocked him onto someone's knee. Rin jerked his head up, an apology on his lips ready only to die in an unheard little rush of breath.

Rin was certain, during one of the many occasions that he had snuck a peek at his mother's books, that he had read about eyes like those. For the life of him, he couldn't quite remember the words used to describe them. The shade was neither pale or dark, but they had depth, a magnate pulling you in and not letting go - but still revealing nothing. A trapdoor that you knew was there but couldn't figure out a way in, a mystery like those he stayed up past his bedtime to see.

"If you want a seat, there's a chair," the man said dryly.

The deep voice jolted Rin out of his reverie, heat spreading across his face as he yanked his body off the stranger's leg. How long had he been sitting on him like a loser? How lame was that? And why did his mouth feel so dry? It was that stupid other guy's fault! Why was he feeling embarrassed? Mortified, he whipped his head around, wet hair slapping his cheeks, hoping for another seat somewhere far away. No luck.

"You going to sit or not?" the man asked, but he didn't seem like he cared as his attention went back to the smallish notebook he held.

There was, indeed, a chair opposite of him. Rin hesitated, glancing out the window beside the man's table. It looked as nasty as ever, rain slamming against the glass, the outside world melting in shades of gray. He really didn't want to go back out there, the burning in his hands and feet brought on by the change in temperature reminding him of just how cold it was out there.

"Um, thanks."

If the man heard him, he showed no sign of it. Instead he wrote in that blue notebook with an ordinary number two pencil sharpened down halfway, fully intent on whatever he was scratching down, the light dully reflecting off the gold band he wore on his left ring finger. Laying down his school bag, Rin sat down, his toes brushing the floor. The man didn't say anything else, nor did he look up, the _scritch-scratch_ of lead only pausing for sips of black coffee. Rin grew listless, swinging his legs from time to time as his eyes searched for something interesting. Yet. They always returned to the man who, unlike most of the cafe's current patrons, was dry.

The man looked a little younger than his mother, and sort of like those tall, dark, and mysterious men in those romance films she (and Rin, not that he'd ever admit it outside his family) liked to watch. Long fingers, a regal nose, eyebrows just thick enough to add extra seriousness to his face. The kind of guy who probably had ladies falling at his feet - or would have, if the air around him felt more approachable than a barbwire fence.

Maybe Rin was reading too many of his mother's books.

Regardless, he felt both intimidated and fascinated, and as the minutes ticked by, he could no longer keep quiet and blurted out, "Are you a teacher?"

"No." Flat. Didn't even look up.

"A student?" Rin tried again.

"No."

Rin's fingers toyed with a hole in the leather. "A scientist?"

"No."

"A fireman?"

"No."

"A cop?"

"No."

"A model?"

"God, no."

"An astronaut?"

" _No_."

"A shower curtain-ring salesman?"

"Are you even trying?"

" _Yes_ ," Rin said with a pout.

Finally, _finally_ , the man looked up from that dumb notebook and those intense blue eyes leveled a stare at him. Rin scowled back at him.

The man sighed and said, "I write stories."

That caused the scowl to slip off Rin's face, and the child subconsciously leaned forward. "What kind?"

"Not the kind you'd be interested in," he said dismissively. At the doubtful look Rin sent him, he clarified, "Romance stories. Adults in love, hugging and kissing and fucking and all the things a little boy cares nothing about."

But Rin wasn't most little boys, not in that regard, and he couldn't help but perk up.

The man's eyes widened a fraction. "Don't tell me..."

"What?" Rin asked, perhaps a bit too defensively.

"You like that kind of thing?"

"N-no!" Rin felt his face turning red again.

"It's written all over your face. What do you do, sneak into your mother's book collection and read about sweet little Yuina falling into the arms of the daring Hiroto who whisks her off into the sunset?"

 _That was a good book!_ "Shut up! I do not, you jerk!" No, Rin did not feel a slight burning in his eyes. It was righteous indignation for an unwarranted interrogation and _because that man was a_ ** _jerk_**. "Just because you're some weirdo who writes girly stuff doesn't mean I'm- I don't know that stuff! I don't like the kissing, o-or - I don't even know what fucking means!" No, his lip wasn't quivering out of humiliation. "And-and-"

And the man smiled.

The tense and dangerous air that had surrounded him dissipated with the curving of his lips and the softening of his brow. It wasn't a big smile, but it was enough to transform him from bully to. Rin didn't know. But the flush on the boy's face remained, even as the man's smile disappeared.

"Tell you what," the man said. "I won't tell anyone your dirty little secret if you don't tell anyone I told you that word. That a good enough deal?"

Rin determinedly looked to the side, sulking and muttering under his breath, but he said "Okay," loud enough for the man to hear. He then heard him set something down, followed by the sound of getting up and walking past Rin. Blinking, Rin turned around in his seat to see the back of the man as he walked to the counter - wow, he was _tall_ \- and toss his empty cup into the trash. Glancing back, he saw that the man had left his notebook, feeling oddly relieved that he wasn't leaving quite yet.

A paper cup was set in front of him, and the smell of cocoa floating up to his nose, steam rising from the cup. "What's this?" Rin asked.

"Bribery," the man said as he sat down and took a swallow of his next coffee. "Extra insurance."

Rin wasn't quite sure what the man meant by that, but the cocoa was hot and not too sweet, and after a few gulps it was chasing the last of the chill away. He beamed, and said, "Thanks, mister!"

The man only hummed back and continued his writing. Oddly, Rin didn't feel annoyed by that. The rain was soothing now, the drink hot in his hands, and the smell of the cafe didn't seem quite as offensive as before. He leaned back in his chair, switching his gaze from the window to the man occasionally. Maybe it was because his hunger had been curbed, or he finally felt completely warm, or that, no longer frightening, the man no longer a threat. Rin still had a lot of questions, but the urgency to ask them, or exactly what they were, were slowly fading as his eyelids felt heavier.

Rin hadn't realized he'd dozed off until a large hand gently shook his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see the man standing beside him. "Wha...?"

"It's getting late and the rain's let up. You should go home." The man presented his wrist on which the watch showed it would be evening soon. Rin's mother would likely be done with dinner soon, and the boy felt a twinge of guilt as his mother always worried so much if either he or Gou were out longer than expected. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Rin looked around the cafe. The man had cleared the table, and there were only a few people left besides the employees.

"Come on." The man started walking away, and Rin scrambled off the chair, grabbed his school bag, and ran to catch up with his companion's much longer strides.

"See you later, Mei," the man said and briefly through up his hand at the lady behind the counter. She looked up, gaze landed on Rin for a moment in surprise before recovering, and said, "Goodnight. Be careful on your way home!"

Rin could have sworn he heard the man snort.

He had been carrying a black umbrella in his free hand, and quickly opened it as they stepped outside. A rush of cold air slammed into Rin, who shivered and instinctively moved closer to the man. The rain wasn't as heavy as before, but it was still falling and felt even icier than before. His clothes were still damp from before, and he really didn't want to get rained on again.

"Do you live close by?" the man asked.

"Y-yeah."

The man stared straight ahead for a moment, then ever so slightly nodded and gave the handle of the umbrella to Rin. "Here. It'll get dark soon, so go straight home." And with that, he started walking away.

"Wait, your umbrella!" Rin called after him.

"It's fine," he said. He didn't even look back.

Was he really going to give him his umbrella? Just like that? Rin gripped the handle tightly in both hands, feeling tongue-tied and a little emotional. "Wait!" he said, words feeling clumsy in his mouth. "My name is Matsuoka Rin! I have a girly name but I'm a boy!"

For a moment, Rin didn't think the man heard him, know whether he was relieved or disappointed, but then the man stopped and turned halfway around. Somehow those eyes managed to keep their bright color when everything else was washed out, and they looked at Rin. And then the man smiled at Rin.

"Yamazaki Sousuke."

He said nothing more as he continued on, and Rin stood there, watching until the man all but disappeared into the gray. When Rin got home that night, his mother would hug him and try to pretend that she wasn't half-worried out of her mind. She'd ask about the umbrella, but all Rin would do is mumble something about a stranger giving it to him, and as he ate dinner with his family his mother would believe the light flush in his cheeks was only due to the cold.

But for now he was only beginning his trek home, the image of those eyes superimposed over everything else.


End file.
